Peak
1
Weeks
27
Score
4,016
Chart Year
1985
Scores & Rankings
Chart Performance
Peak Position1
Peak DateOct 19, 1985
Weeks at Peak1
Weeks Charted27
Weeks in Top 4015
Weeks in Top 107
Weeks at #20
Weeks at #11
Scoring
Summary Calc1,730
Weekly Calc2,286
Total Score4,016
Rankings
Year Ranking#16
Decade Ranking#166
Billboard Year#15
Top 5000#1,936
Details
- Album
- Hunting High and Low
- Label
- Warner Records
- Genre
- Synthpop
- Composer(s)
- Magne Furuholmen, Morten Harket, Pal Waaktaar
- Entered Chart
- Jul 13, 1985
- Peak Date
- Oct 19, 1985
- Released
- 19 October 1984 (1st release) 5 April 1985 (2nd release) 16 September 1985 (3rd UK release)
- Recorded
- 1984-85
- Catalog #
- Warner 7-29011
- B-Side
- Love Is Reason
Music Video
The first release of "Take On Me" in 1984 includes a completely different recording; this mix was featured in the first video, which shows the band singing with a blue background.
Notes
"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's debut studio album, Hunting High and Low (1985). The recording combines synth-pop with a varied instrumentation, including acoustic guitars, keyboards, and drums. The original 1984 version "Take On Me" failed to chart in the United Kingdom, as did the second version in the first of its two 1985 releases. The second of those 1985 releases charted in September 1985, reaching number two on the UK Singles Chart in October. In the United States in October 1985, the single topped Billboard's Hot 100, bolstered by the wide exposure on MTV of director Steve Barron's innovative music video featuring the band in a live-action pencil-sketch animation sequence. The video won six awards and was nominated for two others at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.
We're talking away I don't know what I'm to say I'll say it anyway Today's another day to find you Shying away I'll be coming for your love, okay? Take on me (take on me) Take me on (take on me) I'll be gone In a day or two So needless to say I'm odds and ends But I'll be stumbling away Slowly learning that life is okay Say after me It's no better to be safe than sorry Take on me (take on me) Take me on (take on me) I'll be gone In a day or two Oh, the things that you say, yeah Is it life or Just to play my worries away? You're all the things I've got to remember You're shying away I'll be coming for you anyway Take on me (take on me) Take me on (take on me) I'll be gone In a day I'll be gone (take on me, take on me) In a day (take me on, take on me) (Take on me, take on me) (Take me on, take on me) (Take on me)
Chart History (27 weeks)
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jul 13, 1985 | 91 | 35 |
| 2 | Jul 20, 1985 | 86 | 40 |
| 3 | Jul 27, 1985 | 79 | 47 |
| 4 | Aug 3, 1985 | 67 | 59 |
| 5 | Aug 10, 1985 | 57 | 69 |
| 6 | Aug 17, 1985 | 48 | 78 |
| 7 | Aug 24, 1985 | 38 | 88 |
| 8 | Aug 31, 1985 | 28 | 98 |
| 9 | Sep 7, 1985 | 21 | 105 |
| 10 | Sep 14, 1985 | 17 | 109 |
| 11 | Sep 21, 1985 | 13 | 113 |
| 12 | Sep 28, 1985 | 7 | 119 |
| 13 | Oct 5, 1985 | 4 | 122 |
| 14 | Oct 12, 1985 | 3 | 123 |
| 15 | Oct 19, 1985 | 1 | 125 |
| 16 | Oct 26, 1985 | 3 | 123 |
| 17 | Nov 2, 1985 | 5 | 121 |
| 18 | Nov 9, 1985 | 8 | 118 |
| 19 | Nov 16, 1985 | 13 | 113 |
| 20 | Nov 23, 1985 | 23 | 103 |
Weeks 1–20 of 27
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